Last week my daughter and friends were at cow camp.
Did you know that baby calves (redundant) can stand up just a few hours after they are born? I did not.
This little fashionista and Belieber (believes in the Biebs, as in Justin) was shaving, grooming, milking, feeding and playing with the cows. One day she did her cow's hair and then set it with hair spray - who knew?!!
Camp ended with a cow show; the culmination of a week's worth of cowhand experience. Take a look.
1920's literary giants in Paris. Disheartened Hollywood writer played by Owen Wilson. Time Travel. Woody Allen sensibility. Smart. Whimsy. I can't stop thinking about it since I saw it a few weeks ago. A must.
Title/opening credits roll. White typography on a black screen - it has to be Woody Allen. That old familiar feel; whether nostalgia or mere fetish, it's certainly brand establishment.
Font/Type: Windsor typeface, circa 1905. Woody Allen's go to/signature typeface. He has used this type in the opening credits of just about all his movies since the late 1970's. It appears first in 1977 with Annie Hall.
Celebrations for Independence Day are nothing new. The invitation above is an example of an engraved invitation that personalizes the recipients, in this case, the Purdy Family for a celebration in Greenwich in 1825.
Seems a bit drab today; where's the red white and blue? And, there were no hot dogs at this party - the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council estimates that on Monday, over 150 million hot dogs will be eaten. We've come a long way...
And, speaking of hot dogs, Joey Chestnut - reigning champ of Nathan's Famous July Fourth International Hot Dog Eating Contest - is aiming to consume 75 hot dogs in 10 minutes - with buns - to keep his title. Watch above to see what he did last year. He is not just a hot dog king, he also wins asparagus* eating contests and once ate 78 matzo balls. Don't laugh, he earns big bucks for all this eating. Sharing this Vanity Fair article on Joey (written by John Heilburn).
You can watch Nathan's Contest on ESPN Monday morning; live streaming at 9:30. Oh, and girls compete too.
Have a wonderful 4th of July - happily and safely "unite in the Celebration of the Day"!
*For those who care to know - the idea of eating more than 1 asparagus spear makes me sick.
Wow! It has been a busy, exciting and hectic week; acting as NYC tour guides to relatives in from CA, getting forms and things ready for various camps and trips, meeting new and talented young people, working on some fun projects and just soaking it all in as we head into Summer 2011!
So, now, my plans for the first weekend of summer are to relax with my husband Bob, spend lazy time with my kids, walk barefoot in the grass with our dogs, practice cartwheels in the yard,
give lots of hugs (only to people I know!),
rest up in the hammock, put caperberries in my drink (not so easy to find all the time - but worth it)
Rear of a peacock in full strut at Paxon Hill Farm, Solebury, PA
Here's a thought for you:
Facebook, twitter, email.
Had Congressman Andrew Weiner used snail mail instead of any of these social media platforms (with fabulous personalized stationery created by Orrganics just for him of course - and yes, I could have come up a very manly motif), maybe he wouldn't be in this humiliating and viral mess.
And, "just to be clear," despite being seated with CW and Huma at a small dinner party a few years back (location and date: Nobu, Bahamas over New Year's Eve 2008), I can assure you that I have no photos of Mr. Weiner - in whole or in part - from that evening, nor any other moment in time or place.
The white dinner jacket. "Did I have you at hello?"
Need I say more to conjure up the picture of the debonair, well-dressed man? Thinking Sean Connery anyone? George Clooney, Daniel Craig...
Oh, I wandered a bit - yes, back to the story.
The white dinner jacket. Not even in the same category as the light blue tux by way of alternative to the traditional and elegant black tuxedo. So what is the history of this oh so fabulous look?
Well, - in short - it is said to have come into fashion in America in the 1930s/40s via Humphrey Bogart - Casablanca anyone - along with the integration of the black dinner jacket as a de facto evening wear alternative to the more formal coat and tails (the tailcoat). It emerged in the 20s and 30s as a way for wealthy men vacationing in warmer climates to dress formally for dinner without feeling the heaviness of the dark color.
The white dinner jacket is traditionally never worn in England - except abroad - which by interpretation would mean - never worn in England. It is traditionally worn only after Memorial Day (Easter in the South) and not after Labor Day (except for Prom, in which case anytime is fine) unless you are schmoozing in the tropics. Style wise; note that the labels on a white dinner jacket are of the same fabric as the jacket - differing from the black tuxedo jacket which has satin lapels or collar.
White or black, going for a classic and formal look, the results are Über fabulous, just like this timeless wedding invitation we created recently.
Yes, it was Prom.
And congrats to some of my favorite clients - Becky and Joey!
FYI:
The black tuxedo jacket as the replacement for the formal longer coat and tails has its own interesting history. It is reported to have been spotted for the first time in the US in - where else - Tuxedo Park, NY in 1886 after some say a guest reportedly cut off his "own tails"; others attribute the new style to Pierre Lorillard IV, in NYC, or the Prince of Wales who had one made for him by his own tailors in or around 1860. It was at first the informal alternative to the tailcoat worn by the upper classes to dinner, then it was viewed as semi formal attire until finally after World War II it became what is now the fashion for special occasion and formal attire.
